Canada is in the midst of a tall building boom. Twenty six buildings taller than 150 meters have been built in Canada since 2005, according to a new research study by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat.

Canada added four buildings taller than 200 meters in 2012, the most Canada has ever completed in a single year, the CTBUH study found. In contrast the United States completed two building over 200 meters in 2012.

The epicenter of Canadian tall building development is Toronto, where 15 buildings taller than 150 meters are under construction, more than any other city in the western hemisphere. Toronto is projected to have 44 buildings taller than 150 meters by 2015, up from 13 in 2005.

But Toronto is not alone. Vancouver and Calgary are also growing taller. By the end of 2015 the number of buildings in Canada taller than 150 meters is expected to increase to 74, up from 26 in 1995, according to the CTBUH study.

“Canada is reshaping its urban centers and tall buildings are playing a large role,” said Dr. Antony Wood, Executive Director of the CTBUH. “Canada is at the forefront of discussions about density, transportation and urban sustainability.”

The development in Canada also reflects a global shift in the fundamental role of tall buildings around the world. In 2001, 26 of the 27 buildings taller than 150 meters in Canada were office or hotel buildings; today 15 of the 17 buildings taller than 150 meters currently under construction are entirely or partially residential. Eight of the 9 buildings taller than 150 meters completed in Canada in 2012 featured a residential component.

All five of the towers taller than 200 meters under construction in Toronto are residential.

A similar shift can be found in cities around the world. In 1990, 89 of the 100 tallest buildings were offices; in 2012 only 41 of the 100 are offices and 53 have a residential component, according to data tracked by the CTBUH database, The Skyscraper Center.

• Toronto currently has 30 buildings over 150 meters; Calgary has the second highest number with 14.
• Toronto accounts for 51.8 percent of the tall buildings in Canada, but only 14.5 percent of the population.
• The latest additions to Canadian skylines include the 277-meter Trump International Hotel and Tower in Toronto and The Bow, a 237-meter tower in Calgary with a unique diagrid structural system.

The CTBUH study focused on the population of buildings taller than 150 meters in Canada’s seven largest urban agglomerations. The raw data can be found on the Skyscraper Center.

Figure 2. Timeline of Canadian Skyscraper Completion, Since 1985View LargerNote: Bars represent total number of buildings in existence at the end of each year. Dots represent building type, completion year and height.